Sloane Stephens Just Won the U.S. Open in an Incredible Comeback

Just a few days after the U.S. Open's all-American semifinals—no, really, all four women who made the cut were American—Sloane Stephens has won the championship at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. For Stephens the victory was an incredible comeback: She was ranked 957th in women's tennis just last month, according to The New York Times, and she returned to the game only in July after foot surgery.

On Thursday the unseeded Stephens beat Venus Williams in the semifinals to advance to the final matches. On Saturday she won against number-15-seeded Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the finals to take the title. (Keys beat CoCo Vandeweghe in her own semifinal round.)

Stephens and Keys are close pals: They have a long history together and support each other like crazy, which made the win even more poignant. According to the Times, they played tennis together as juniors before going on to compete on Fed Cup and Olympic teams.

Both athletes brought their own weaknesses and strengths to the match. Stephens, who draws on her quickness and punch in tennis, has been recovering from that foot surgery. Keys, who the Times calls "arguably the most powerful player in women's tennis," had two operations on her left wrist in the past 10 months.

"If there’s someone I had to lose to today, I’m glad it’s her," Keys said, according to the Guardian. "If you told me two months ago I’d be holding a finalist trophy at the U.S. Open, I’d be really happy and proud of myself."